


Summer Sun

by yersifanel



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Background Relationships, Fae & Fairies, Fae Magic, Friendship, Love Confessions, M/M, Protective Oliver
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 15:14:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7392628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yersifanel/pseuds/yersifanel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry is attacked by a speed demon and saved by Oliver, who takes him to his world to protect him from his attacker. Barry's life starts making more sense once he understands that the magic his mother used to tell him about has been real all along, because he was the impossible. Barry needs to find his inner light to survive the speed demon who is after him, or fall into despair.</p><p>A Fae AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer Sun

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks a million to my awesome Beta Bluestar, for helping me with the revision of this story.
> 
> This fairy tale-like story was inspired by the role-playing game Changeling: The Lost, I hope you enjoy this take into the mythical Fae world (or the one where everyone is a Fairy, Oliver is the future King of the Summer Court and Barry is the Literal Sun of the Fairy World).

The smell of old wood and books lingered in the air, like a caress of times long passed. There's something intimate in the cramped yet cozy looks of the store. There are piles of books next to old embroidered cushions sitting on a rug probably older than him. Tables with mismatched chairs, cupboards, wardrobes and counters with old cutlery, clean yet stained with marks of time and use. The whole place is balanced with a sense of disorder, there is no actual neatness present, yet everything has a place and it feels right to the looking eye.

There was not a single thing Barry didn't love about the old shop, just being there brought a smile to his face. His eyes wandering around to capture the details of each corner in his memory, to differentiate from the other antique shops he had set foot into.

"Welcome to Time Dust, feel free to look around," singsonged the old woman at the counter beside the entrance, her voice soft and caring. She looked up from her croquette and smiled at Barry before adjusting her glasses and continued her practiced and mastered hand movements.

Barry mumbled his thanks, dazed with the place yet careful to not knock anything by accident with his messenger bag. Dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt and a dark cardigan, he felt like an offender to the vintage niche, his converse shoes clashing with the decades old rug. Carefully he walked to the far corner where a table sat with an open suitcase on display. The worn leather container had been modified to function as a showcase for trinkets and ornaments. Within the case a pile of charms caught Barry's eye drawing him closer to peer at what treasures lay within.

The warm light of the lamps jumped around the store, caught in the crystals of the chandelier in the center of the store, the soft light made the charm of a bow and arrow glister among the rest, guiding Barry's fingers to pick it up and study it.

"This one," he said with no hesitation. "I'm taking this one."

Barry knew exactly what he was going to do with that charm; the decision to acquire it went pass the simple need to have such a trinket, as often happened to him. From childhood to this day, Barry loved to collect charms and trinkets, some he wears on a long chain around his neck or the bracelet around his left wrist. Some were pinned to a cloth hung over his desk at his apartment. While other charms he collected over the years where scattered around in different places, depending on how much they plastered an impression in Barry's mind upon their acquirement.

He paid for the charm and left the store in a hurry, taking note of its location to later come back. He was running late, a common occurrence for him, but the place lured him as such niches often did and he simply couldn't resist. Now there was another charm in his pocket, nicely wrapped in a small cloth, while he ran the streets under the morning sun, making the sounds of the charms on his necklace as they click against each other fade in the street noise.

The charm and its calling was temporary set aside in Barry's mind, his work demanding his full attention. Day to day he would use science to explain that who lacked resolution, such was the work of a crime scene investigator and it was quite funny that someone who firmly stood in the science ground had such great belief in Fantasy.

These days, Barry was in constant pursue of the impossible, but many seasons before, the impossible found him first and changed his life. That day he lost his parents and everything he believed in was put to the test, one that to this day he was still trying to endure.

His mother robbed of her life before his very eyes. His father vanished before he could even cry, leaving the bitter aftertaste of accusation behind, suspected of the murder of his wife and abandonment of his child. Barry knew better, his father was innocent, but even knowing this he couldn't help but wonder why his father left him behind, alone in a world that just lost all its light.  
But not everything about his parents was lost, he will always treasure his memories, and the charms were the perfect tool to evoke them.

"Sorry I'm late!" he quickly said, jogging past his boss and towards his lab in the CCPD. Captain Sigh rolled his eyes, but didn't give him a well-earned earful this time.

Placing the charm on his desk, Barry submerged himself in his work, the small bow and arrow shinning with the bouncing light around the place.

When Barry was a child, he noticed how his mother loved to collect charms. She would make bracelets with them and the ones she liked the most, she wore them on a necklace: a dark gold lightning bolt, Barry's favorite, a dragonfly with opal eyes, and a silver bow and arrow. Barry loved the sound they made, clicking against each other while his parents danced to a soft ballad in the living room.

Barry took off the necklace around his neck and placed it over the desk, taking off a few of the charms and only leaving two in particular. He eyed the lightning bolt and the firefly with a sad smile. These two charms were a memento of his mother and one of the few things he was allowed to keep that belonged to his mother. The bow and arrow charm was the only one of her favorites that he did not have since it went missing the same day she died. Today, Barry found another charm, it was almost exactly like his mother's with only a few stains in the metal and with no shine, but Barry could deal with that, because his necklace was complete once again.

"I miss you, mom," he said softly as he put the necklace on again, blinking back tears. "I love you."

He attached the other charms to the bracelet and once done, he pulled down his sleeves and continued his work, this time the necklace in full display over his sweater. Occasionally he would absentmindedly run his fingers over the bow and arrow charm, humming to himself as he worked.

Barry didn't notice how the light in the opal eyes of his dragonfly charm blinked and an unseen wind carried his voice around.

-*-*-

Still and silent wind chimes and bells of many shapes and colors decorated the trees around the lake, darkness folding everything like a blanket in the unnatural cold that had already lasted too long.

The guardians at the edge of the lake looked bored with the stillness of the place. One cleaning a flute that made no sound, the other tinkering with his custom made glasses.

"You miss the sound," it wasn't a question, dark eyes glanced at his companion as he spoke.

"Of course not Cisco, I carry around a flute I cannot play because it's shiny," the musician said in clear sarcasm, tightly holding his instrument.

"Hartley..."

"Save it, this cursed silence will last forever," he lifted the flute to his lips and blew, he wasn't expecting any sound to come out, as had happened many times before. When the soft melody danced around them, Hartley was clearly surprised. He stopped playing, besides him Cisco lifted his dark glasses off his face, glaring at the instrument.

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know," Hartley played again and the sound was richer.

There was a sound of a rock hitting the water, and from the middle of the lake a light emerged, unfreezing the stillness of the surrounding area. The water began to ripple and the wind flowed again, the bells and wind chimes started dancing and the sound filled the place quickly and softly, like Hartley remembered from his childhood.

"Is that?" Cisco quickly crawled towards the water, dipping his fingers in the now dancing waters, "It is!"

"Glamour," Hartley breathed, feeling overwhelmed, "But how?"

The wind chimes and bells danced to an unknown melody and both felt more alive than they had felt in years due to the rich Glamour in the air. The forest around them was coming back to life with the four seasons at the same time. Spring flowers and Summer fruits, Autumn leaves and Winters frost. Butterflies danced around fireflies, birds softly started to chirp alongside the cicadas, and in the center of the lake, a bright red dragonfly zipped around before diving into the water again.

"We must tell the others," Hartley turned around, where the once silent and dark lane now was a path he would gladly walk, surrounded by the four seasons, "The Dawn... The Dawn is alive!"

And they ran to carry the notice, as a world once frozen into unnatural stillness was moving again.

  
-*-*-

The sound of keystrokes rumbled about the lab as Barry finished his most recent case, filing information in the system before pulling away the studied evidence to bag and tag. Relaying in science gave him a sense of security, the unknown was fascinating but more often than not scary and Barry hated being scared.

It was easy to get lost in his work, behind him the concealed pin board that held all the information he had of the night his life changed stood like a reminder. He could run, he could deny, but the truth was that something happened to him all those years ago, marking him for days to come.

Barry sealed the last box of evidence for the day, the light in his lab was changing, letting him know the day was coming to an end.

The vibrant shades of yellow and orange came streaming in through the large windows, painting Barry’s work space.

Looking out the window Barry could see the sunset and how it made its way into view with its beams of light suddenly cracking around Barry.

"What...?"

Static rumbled on the surface of the tables and the chains of the skylight, the whole room shivered for a second before an unexpected wind blew the papers from every surface away just as lightning shocked the place, a red and yellow blur circled Barry menacingly.

"No, this isn't happening…"

His hand went to his necklace, gripping the charms in his hand. In his head he was eleven again, watching in horror as his mother was taken away from him by this very same thing, lightning and wind cracking furiously, enclosing him in the eye of the storm.

"What do you want?!"

He could see glowing red eyes staring at him in the lightning, the blurred face of a man laughing at him, knowing he had Barry trapped in the lightning barrier he had created. Barry moved, trying to get out only to be shocked by the electricity, throwing him back into the center of the barrier, he still tried again and again, getting shocked every time until he was panting on the floor, his body numb with pain.

"It's time," the man in yellow said, his voice vibrating in Barry's ears, "I've been waiting for this."

The last ray of sun disappeared as the sun finally set for the day, the man in yellow took Barry by the throat, his other hand against Barry's chest, over his heart.

"Tell me why," tears clustered in the corners of Barry's eyes, clumping around his eyelashes, "Why are you doing this?"

"Your shine," the man said, pressing his hand against Barry's chest, "I want it, I need it."

The stranger pressed against his chest and Barry felt agony.

He screamed, feeling as if life itself was being robbed out of him. Tears ran down his face, the pain like nothing he had ever felt before.

Suddenly, the man in yellow let him go. Barry tumbled down and gasped, barely able to see the man in yellow backing off with an arrow embedded in his shoulder.

A gush of wind and another man was standing beside Barry, clad in green with a bow and arrow in his hands, ready to fire.

"Leave before I kill you," the newcomer ordered and it felt like a promise, not a threat.

"No, his shine is mine!"

The archer fired a series of rapid shots, two striking directly at the man in yellow. Barry's attacker almost growled and then he was gone. The archer kneeled, careful hands inspecting the damage done to Barry.

"Hey... hey, stay awake," the strangers voice softer than before, "I need you to stay awake."

Barry was tired and he fought the heavy fog over him the best he could, but it was useless.

"Who a-are y-you?"

"You are going to be okay, Barry," the archer said instead, "I promise."

Barry closed his eyes and knew no more.

-*-*-

Someone was singing, he knew the melody, the same song he hummed from time to time, a tune from his childhood he kept close to this day. Blinking slowly, the cobwebs dissolved and his eyes focused, giving place for the panic to set.

Barry made a distressed sound, scrambling up against the headboard of the bed he found himself on. He was wearing his own clothes, this knowledge calmed him a great deal, but he still didn't know where he was, some kind of room made of stone by the looks of it.

"You're awake! I mean, of course you're awake, you're moving and all that jazz," declared a chipper voice, Barry yelped in response, tangling himself in the sheets and falling off the bed. The owner of the chipper voice scrambled to the side where he had fallen, "Oh dear, are you well?"

A blonde woman dressed in blue attire came into view to find him struggling with the sheets at the other side.

Barry stopped for a moment, looking at her with wide, confused eyes. "W-Where am I?"

She smiled at him, a kind gesture, it looked as if she was almost sorry for him, "You're in Prince Oliver's castle and for the looks of it, he didn't ask you if you wanted to be here beforehand."

"Who?" his movements were a little calmer now that he felt he wasn't in immediate danger - at least the blonde woman didn't look like she was about to harm him - and managed to untangle himself from the sheets and get on his feet.

"Yes indeed, he did not ask you at all," she mumbled sounding unsurprised. "I'm Felicity, nice to meet you.” Was spoken with a happier note and smile to accompany it directed toward Barry.

She made a short bow and Barry was more than confused by this point. The room was definitely made of stone and there were vines on the walls and the ceiling, and there were no windows. The place was illuminated by several lamps that looked like crystals, everything looked old and yet beautiful.

"I..." he looked around, feeling lost, "Where am I?" he repeated and Felicity gave him a flat look,

"Prince what's-his-name castle makes no sense, you realize that, right?"

She blinked, "Oliver, Prince Oliver."

He threw his hands up, "I don't know the guy!"

Felicity fidgeted with her hands, looking at Barry in confusion, "Wears green, shoots arrows, grunts a lot?"

Barry was moving around the room looking for an exit, but he couldn't find a door, weird. He blinked a couple of times once his attention was drawn back to Felicity, "The Archer? He... he saved me and then..."

"He brought you here," Felicity gently took his hand and guided him to sit on the bed, "I'm sorry he didn’t ask you beforehand, I can assure you he was doing what he thought best at the time."

Confused and scared, Barry looked around for anything that could tell him what was going on. His fingers closed over his necklace in a nervous gesture, he inhaled deeply, feeling anxious.

Felicity was looming over him, close but not enough to invade his personal space. She seemed nice, Barry could tell that much, he didn’t feel threatened by her presence at least.

"He couldn't ask," Barry found himself justifying the archer, he did save him after all. "I was not in a very good shape to answer anyway."

He replayed the events in his head, "Who is he? The man in yellow..."

Felicity's expression changed, her lips thinned and eyes hard, "We call them speedsters or in that man's case, speed demons, because they move really, really fast, but you already knew that, you saw it, of course, sorry, I'm rambling."

She covered her mouth with her hands, Barry smiled sadly at her, "It's ok, it's just... this is not the first time I have seen him... That man murdered my parents when I was a kid."

Biting his lower lip, Barry sat on the bed, staring at his hands to focus his attention on something other than the dread he was feeling, “If not for the Archer... Oliver you said? If not for him, he would have killed me as well."

The bed deepened as Felicity sat down beside him, her face had a expression of deep thought, "How, How old where you when you saw the yellow speed demon for the first time?"

"Eleven," he said with no hesitation, "Nobody believed me. They blamed my dad for my mother's murder because he was nowhere to be found but... I saw that man hurt them both."

"I'm sorry," her voice faltered, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"He's real," Barry pointed out. "He has always been real, after all."

There was a long silence, Barry calmed down considerably and Felicity remained by his side, allowing him to process everything that was going on in his head with no rush.

"I'm Barry," he smiled at Felicity, his eyes a bit watery, "Barry Allen."

Felicity smiled back at him, "Pleasure to meet you, Barry."

-*-*-

The silence was shattered in the cold throne room as the speed demon clad in black broke thru the frost on the floor, his dark eyes glaring at the Onyx Throne.

"What do you want, Zoom?" Blue eyes piercing the speed demon with a cold gaze, Zoom responded with a distorted smile.

"You and I have a common interest," The speed demon said, "Don't you think?"

Frost crawled, unnoticed, toward Zoom, freezing his feet as the man on the Onyx throne rose, "I heard a speed demon ran off the silver paths to devour the glamour of a Lost One, but our oh-so-dear-Summer-King stopped him."

"Oliver is no King," Zoom snarled. "You should know better than most, Leonard, after all you are King of Winter, while Oliver has yet to claim the Sun."

"Get out of my presence Zoom," Leonard hissed, "I have no desire to speak to your kin."

"Your lost."

And the speed demon was gone.

The temperature in the room dropped, wind hissing around as Leonard calmed his Sorrow-Frozen Heart, easing the pain and welcoming the stillness.

The door opened again, this time his sister strode into the room, behind her followed several of those loyal and protected by his Court.

"The speed demon, what did he want?"

Lisa was always glittering in gold and light, she was no soul of Winter and yet she remained by her brother's side.

"Rumor has it Oliver found the Sun," Leonard smirked, "We soon may have a new Summer King."

Lisa narrowed her eyes, "Can his Sun wake your Moon?"

Leonard glanced at his side, where the seat beside him remained empty, "Perhaps."

His sister smiled with mischief in her eyes, "Shouldn't you be summoning Mick already? He's your friend, regardless of his Court."

"Mick dislikes the cold and I can't help myself right now," Leonard rolled his eyes, "However, I do need to talk to him, the speed demons are hunting his future King's precious Sun and I don't feel like having another fifteen years of silence and stillness... even the Winter needs to move."

"Shall I arrange a meeting?" She asked to be polite, but Leonard was sure his sister would do so regardless of his answer.

"Please."

Leonard remembered with vivid detail. Fifteen years ago the Fae World was consumed by silence and an eerie darkness. The Courts reunited their pledgers and found the cause: The Light of the Aurora was dead, murdered by the hands of another Fae.

She was the Sun, the pillar of the Dawn and now she was gone and so was the light of Arcadia.

That day the silver paths, the connections between the Arcadia and the Human World, were shattered beyond repair and the connection the Fae Realm needed to live, vanished.

Glamour, the energy that lets Fae live, rich and powerful, was abundant amongst the humans. With the connection that allowed the energy to follow between the worlds gone, the Fae were struggling to survive. Without it and the murder of the Sun, the Fae Realm was placed into stillness and silence. The world of the Fae lost its vibrancy of color, life, and music.

But now...

The Sun was alive once again, the Fae Realm was moving and Leonard was not going to let a forsaken Speed Demon's madness destroy their lives, not again.

He was the King of the Winter Court, his sorrow was his weapon and he was not going down without a fight.

-*-*-

"Fairies. You're telling me you guys are fairies," Barry glared at the man before him, "For real?"

Cisco's shades were pushed up, resting on top of his head. He simply nodded at Barry's incredulous statement; he was telling the truth even if the mortal before him couldn't understand it just yet.

"I personally prefer the term Faefolk, because we're like, a ton of different kinds of Faeries, but thanks to pop culture, everyone thinks of sprites like Tinkerbell."

Barry was very confused.

Upon seeing the castle – and yes, it was a Castle, well, actually two Castles next to each other – there was no doubt in his mind that he wasn't in Kansas anymore. Twin Castles rose next to each other; the differences between the two were in the details. Both were covered with vines with one having blooming flowers intertwining amongst the vines; while the one that Barry was told was Oliver's was shaded by the green of the foliage and the shade of the nearby forest.

The Day Alliance, Cisco had called, where the Court of Spring and the Court of Summer united forces for their pledgers.

A woman with dark red hair and a sweet smile joined them at some point in their conversation. Cisco introduced her as Caitlin and Barry found himself enjoying the way she and Cisco explained everything to him.

"So, four Courts," Barry tried to summarize, "Like the four seasons."

"Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter," Caitlin nodded in approval.

"And two mayor Alliances amongst them," Cisco continued, "The Day for Spring and Summer. The Night for Autumn and Winter."

"But the Courts are not against each other, right?" Barry had chased after these stories all his life, now he was living in one - or maybe he'd gone mad.

"We're not enemies, the alliances are to help each other, spring and summer can function better than summer and winter, but we are a whole," Caitlin's voice was firm as she explained this. "Or at least... we used to be."

Caitlin, with the yellow flowers in her hair and the spring in her skin smiled sadly, Cisco took her hand in support and looked at Barry, "The Courts function around day and night, with the sun and the moon... Fifteen years ago, someone murdered the sun and almost did the same with the moon, sending our Realm into silence and stillness."

Anguish crawled inside Barry, he disliked the sadness that took his new friend's good mood away.  
"How can anyone murder the sun?" The question was a distraction, but also his search for understanding. "I don't get it."

The Fae shared a look and Cisco slapped his forehead, "Oh yeah, you're not from here."

Caitlin covered her mouth with her hand, hiding her giggles. "There's an old verse amongst the Faefolk...

 _Daylight brings the Spring_  
_Prelude for the Sun_  
_Who dances with the Summer_

 _For Wrath and desire to seek Hope_  
_Sunset is the Autumn's lullaby_  
_Softly sings for the Moon to rise_

 _Winter courts the white light_  
_When Fear and Sorrow in fight strike_

"It means that those who pledged alliance to Summer and Spring are protected by the Sun while those pledged to Autumn and Winter are shielded by the Moon," Caitlin smiled softly, as if explaining to a child. "The Sun and The Moon are not the stars you know Barry, they are _living beings_ , Fae like us, but with a great natural light in them."

Barry frowned, Felicity explained that Fae live of glamour, a light mortals unknowingly create with their strong feelings. Fae can't create glamour themselves, none but those titled as the Sun and the Moon.

Cisco and Caitlin were very eager to tell the story of their people, for but for all they were saying, Barry felt there was a great deal they left unsaid.  
He couldn't shake off the feeling.

-*-*-

Oliver watched from afar as Barry laughed with Cisco. He could feel Barry's light coming in waves, unknowingly feeding those around him with the so much needed glamour they lacked, it rendered him speechless.

"You should talk to him," Felicity wasn’t surprised to see Oliver lurking in the shadows, "Shake off that creepy stalker vide you're giving."

"I'm not stalking him, I'm—"  
"Staring at him really hard from afar?" She smirked at Oliver's glare, "Just talk to him Oliver."

"He's the one Felicity," his voice was calm, not giving up the constant fear he felt inside, "I've seen him so many times in my dreams and now he's here and... I don't know what to say."

"What about being yourself? Tell him about the Summer Court, he already knows we're Fae," she gestured to the group who kept telling Barry about their world, "Come on, go, go!"

Oliver took a deep breath before crossing the yard and heading towards the group. Caitlin caught his eye and pushed Cisco lightly to let him know Oliver was coming.

"Your highness," Caitlin greeted politely, Oliver nodded in acknowledge, Cisco waved his hand.

"We were telling Barry about you," that might make things easier, he hoped. "Our Summer King to be."

Barry smiled shyly, "Is your crowning day coming?"

"Yes, now that the Realm is moving once again," Oliver wasn't lying but he was leaving an important part out. He ignored Cisco's glare and Caitlin's frown, instead offering his hand to Barry, "Would you walk with me?"

"S-sure."

Barry felt out of place, his clothes clashing with the dream like scenery around him, but even so he refused to let that take away the feeling of awe and wonder within him. With Oliver at his side, they walked the gardens, towards the Spring Castle.

"Thank you," Barry spoke softly, not wanting to break the comfortable atmosphere. "For saving me, I mean."

Oliver looked at him, lifting his hand to almost touch Barry's necklace, "I'm glad you had my charm, it let me find you."

Blinking the younger man took the charms in his hand, "The bow and arrow?"

"Correct."

"My mother loved to collect charms," he explained, "These were her favorites, I kept them as a memento, but I was missing one like this, it... broke... when she... passed away."

His hand closed around the necklace, his eyes far way. Oliver lightly touched his cheek, making him blink and focus on Oliver's green eyes, "I'm sorry to hear that, Barry."

"It was a long time ago," he tried to shrug it off but it felt fake, "So! Your charm?"

Noticing the obvious topic change, Oliver went along, "Sometimes, Fae mark objects with their signature energy, this allows us to have anchors outside Arcadia to move between Realms, to Earth... your world."

"You randomly choose a charm and made it your anchor then lost it in my world?" Barry sounded skeptical, Oliver found it amusing that amongst everything he had seen, this was what made him suspicious.

"No, not like that," he smiled at him, "I made the charm, bonded a part of myself to it and then sent it to the mortal world... I was hoping you would find it, someday."

It was said as a casual statement, but Barry read into it. Oliver was being vague, yet Barry felt he was not talking about a random person finding the bow and arrow charm, but him, Bartholomew Henry Allen.

"Why?" he asked softly, almost afraid of the answer, "Why me?"

Oliver looked at him in the eye, reading the doubt and fear in them. He would give anything to see it gone, for Barry was too precious to be hurt.

"I..." he dodged his eyes, feeling self-conscious, "When I was a child, I—"

A loud crash interrupted them and suddenly Barry found himself in the air, a pretty young woman smiling down at him as she hugged him in her arms, flying over the gardens.

"Barry!" she giggled happily, "I missed you so much!"

Barry held her for dear life, almost 20 feet from the ground. Below them, Oliver was glaring at the pair, clearly unhappy with the interruption.

"Kara!" Oliver yelled in annoyance, "Get back here!"

The young woman – Kara, his mind supplied – pouted at Oliver, hugging Barry tighter within her hold, "He's so grumpy all the time."

"E-excuse me?" Barry was clearly nervous from being snatched up into the air but the mesmerizing bright colors of the translucent wings on Kara's back was distracting him from his panic, "C-can we go down, please?"

Kara blinked twice, "Oh yes, sorry!"

Slowly, her wings shifted and they were on the ground again, she still didn’t let go of Barry, looking simply happy to see him. Oliver walked over to them, glaring at the younger woman.

"What are you doing, your highness?" he hissed, almost making the title pointless, Kara rolled her eyes.

"Don't call me that, otherwise I'll have to call you 'your highness' as well and I always forget," she palmed her colorful clothes, getting rid of non-existing dust.

She was shining, almost literally. Big flowers in a crown adorned her head, rich blue forget me not’s and silky red roses, white small flowers and a bit of green foliage. Barry could taste the air around her, like the breeze in the woods.

"This is Kara," Oliver introduced as politely as he could without growling, "Spring Queen."

"He already knows me, silly," Kara was very sure of herself, "I mean, I think he doesn't remember me, but he knows me."

"That... makes no sense," Barry's voice was rich with confusion, "I don't think we know each other."

"Your mother and I used to do gardening at your house," she explained, "You and I would make soap bubbles and run around afterwards, remember?"

He did remember. His mother, lovingly planting flowers and her friend - his friend, she was his friend too - singing to him as he sat in the swing hanging from the three in the backyard.

"But—" Barry looked at her, placing her features over the blurred memories of his friend singing to him in his mother's garden, "That was years ago..."

Kara's smile softened in comprehension. "Oh Barry, all is well. I'm a faerie, years can pass over me and I'll continue to bloom," Kara made a confused face, "Also, we were frozen in time for fifteen years."

"Kara!" Oliver hissed.

"What? We were!" the Spring Queen defended.

Oliver sighed, shaking his head several times as he folded his arms. The whole display was almost laughable, Barry would have probably chuckled if he fully understood what was going on between the two royals.

"My mother knew what you were," Barry's voice brought their attention back to him. "She used to tell me you where something out of this world."

"Nora helped me so much, I was so happy to have her at my side, it broke my heart that only days after my coronation she—" Kara's voice faltered, her eyes watering. "Well, I still have a lot to learn; hopefully the pledgers of Spring will have patience with their amateur Queen."

Barry looked up, thinking. Kara was crowned shortly before Barry's mother die, then came the Stillness, as Arcadia's Sun was murdered and now they were moving again. Kara had only been a Queen for a few days so she was still fairly new to the responsibility. For some reason Barry had the feeling she would do just fine.

"You will be a great Queen," Barry told her. "I'm sure."

Kara beamed at him and after a moment jumped to hug him, looking at Oliver with excitement. In turn Oliver gave her a pointed look, speaking in silence. She got the message and bit her lower lip; Barry remained oblivious, enjoying the nice feeling of Kara's breeze over him.

"So Kara is the Spring Queen, Oliver is the Summer King—" Barry blinked, "As soon as you get crowned. What about Autumn and Winter?"

In the far horizon, there was a Mountain. Cisco and Caitlin told him that was where the Courts of Autumn and Winter had their precinct, as well as the Night Alliance.

"We're not sure," Kara mumbled. "Autumn was sorting their royals when the Stillness happened and Winter loves their secrets, I'm pretty sure their former Prince is now King, as he found the Moon before the Stillness and received her blessing, but, well— we have not seen them."

Barry glanced towards the Mountain, wondering about the Night Courts.

-*-*-

Blue lighting crashed into his chest and the yellow speedster crumbled down, gasping in pain.

"You failed," the black speedster hissed, moving around in a zoom – just like his name – his mouth distorted like the nightmare he was.

"The Summer—" the yellow speedster grunted when the other speedster kicked him, "Take it! Just take it!"

The yellow speedster lifted his hand, showing his attacker a bright orb, yellow lighting sprinting around it.

Zoom took the orb and eat it, absorbing the yellow light and turning it blue, his demonic mouth cracking open and releasing a menacing laugh.

"I need more; I need all of it!" Zoom took the yellow speedster by the throat, "Where is he?"

The yellow speedster gasped, "The Day Alliance royal ground," he answered in a pained voice, "The Summer brat came for him."

Zoom narrowed his black eyes, thinking. "I'll take him, prepare everything."

He tossed the yellow speedster aside and ran, leaving the other speedster gasping for air, from the shadows three pair of eyes observed, slowly moving from their hiding place towards the fallen speedster.

"At this rate, he will kill you, Eobard," the oldest of the three witnesses was the first to speak, a man named Harry, offering the yellow speedster his hand, "And he is also going to kill that kid."

The youngest of the group, Jesse, was quick to speak "You can't let that happen!"

"He has nothing to do with this," a young man with dark skin named Wally was next to speak, "He just... has a lot of glamour."

Harry glared at Wally, shaking his head, "That's not the only reason Zoom is after that young man."

Eobard shifted uncomfortably in place, taking off the cowl of his robes and combing his disarranged fluffy blonde hair with his fingers, avoiding looking at his companions.

"Eobard… uncle," Jesse narrowed her eyes. "Why does Zoom want that young man?"

The yellow speedster sighed, his eyes hard and confused, "He was there fifteen years ago, his name is Barry Allen... and he is Nora's son."

Jesse gasped, turning around to quickly jog towards one of the cells where a clear barrier separated them from the man behind it. He was asleep on a cot, brown ashen hair clustered to his forehead in a mixture of sweat and blood.

"Henry, Henry wake up, please..." Wally joined her, looking for a way to open the cell, "Your son is in Arcadia, please Henry, your son needs you."

"It's useless Jesse," Harry took his daughter's hand, he hated seeing her upset. "Zoom did something to him... he can't wake up."

"But Barry..." her lower lip trembled, now fully knowing who the person in danger was. "Zoom is going to hurt Barry."

Eobard looked up, where the only exit of that place existed. They were in a hole in the ground with cells as a mockery of rooms, created by Zoom to hold them in check. The barriers over the cells were up except for the one Henry Allen sleep within, but such current detail didn't make the place less of a prison.

"I should have taken Barry with me before The Stillness," Eobard hissed in anger. "I was supposed to take him!"

In a second, Harry was besides Eobard and punched him in the face. Jesse and Wally rolled their eyes, used to the display.

"It's your fault the goddamn Stillness happened in the first place!" Harry took Eobard by the front of his robes and pushed him against the nearest wall, "All your fault, dear brother of mine, your idiocy killed the Sun and doomed us all!"

"Nora's light was already dying!" Eobard hissed in anger, his hands over Harry's. "She was supposed to come back to Arcadia, but she was afraid."

"She didn't deserve to die!" Harry pushed him against the wall again, hard.

"It was an accident!" Eobard closed his eyes, frustrated. "She wasn't supposed to die, I... I was going to take Barry and she attacked me, I didn't mean to hurt her, but she was vicious, she didn't remember me."

Harry knew this story, but it was so rare for Eobard to acknowledge it that he didn't dare to interrupt his brother's rambling.

"Then Zoom was there and I just... lost it," his hands fell to his side, he looked defeated. "My mind was twisted and I killed Nora... I murdered the Sun."

Jesse and Wally avoided looking at the brothers. Jesse felt as if she should say something, after all it was her father and uncle fighting, but there was nothing she could do. Eobard's mind was swallowed by the despair created by Zoom and the guilt of murdering Nora, one of their own, the Sun of the four Seasons, sending all of Arcadia into a sudden stillness.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, stepping back, "I just... I'm no better than you brother, I almost did the same after all."

"But you controlled yourself," Eobard remarked. "You broke the spell Zoom put on you and stopped before murdering the Moon."

Harry just nodded, amongst the two of them, he was able to break away from Zoom's control and stopped himself just in time from killing the Moon. But his brother wasn't so lucky, and now all of them were trapped here, at Zoom's mercy, court-less and hopeless, just like Zoom wanted all speedsters to be.

"We need to let them know Zoom is coming," Wally walked around, looking at the hole high above, their only exit. "We can't just stay here, it's not even locked… any of us can run away from here."

They knew, all of them could run fast enough to climb up the walls of their prison and yet no one dared, Henry was still paying the consequences of defying Zoom.

"I'll do it," Jesse decided, looking up toward the exit. Henry quickly took her hand, shaking his head, "Dad..."

"No," Harry said firmly. "I'll do it, if Zoom is going to beat any of us to a pulp, it won't be you."

"I can run faster than you," Eobard pointed out. "Besides, this is my mess."

Harry gave his brother an unimpressed look, "The second Oliver sees you he will try to kill you, and Barry won't take lightly his mother's killer being near him."

He had a point. Eobard hated when Harry outsmarted him, it felt wrong.

"Wish me luck," Harry hugged his daughter and shook Wally's hand, and with a final nod toward his brother he ran up and out of Zoom's lair.

Jesse felt cold, the hopelessness inside her eating all her light as she watched her father leave them knowing that if Zoom returned before his return then they faced the same or even a worst fate than Henry for daring to go against him.

-*-*-

Mick approached the gardens where his future King was trying to woo the mortal he saved from the yellow speed demon, because the kid was dripping glamour and, oh... of course. Mick watched the pair laugh and the damn kid shined like the sun, of course he did, how could he not? It was so obvious now that Mick felt like laughing out loud himself, this was priceless.

"You're way too happy," frost crawled on the stone floor and from the corner Leonard made his presence known dressed in black and blue robes. "Something's on fire?"

"I'm glad to see you, your royal pain in the ass," Mick smirked at Len.

"And so am I, my old friend."

The friendship between the summer warrior and the winter King was known amongst many, an extraordinary example that a court was not the defining point of a Fae's life.

Len walked closer and the frost moved with him, Mick waved his hand, melting the snowflakes around him, "Still having issues with that?"

"Pretty much," he nodded. "Seems like my sorrow-frozen heart can't help it," he smirked at his friend, an old joke implied in there.

"It's your power Len," Mick grunted. "Not who you are, Sara melted the damn ice in your heart, literally."

Len sighed softly, it was true after all. One kiss from his Moon and the ice he put around his heart after the heartbreak that almost killed him was gone, replaced with the pale light of the Queen of the Night.

"I can't wake her up," there was anger in his voice, an emotion Mick was very familiar with. "They told me Oliver found the Sun, I need her help."

"His," Mick corrected like an afterthought. "The Sun is a 'he' this time, Nora's boy."

Len did a double take, "What?"

Mick nodded towards the pair in the gardens and Len took a step closer, his frost covering the flowers nearby. Oliver was smiling and Len had never seen him channeling that much glamour before, but the blinding light came from the younger man at his side. True glamour, radiant and so very pure, it almost made Len's heart beat faster, he had only felt like this with Sara, because she was the Moon, the only other being capable of creating Glamour on her own.

"But he's mortal," Len wanted to run and shake Oliver, demand an explanation. "What's going on Mick?"

The summer warrior looked pensive for a moment, his eyes fixed on his king to be and the younger man who was the Sun Arcadia had been waiting for fifteen years.

"You already know part of it, Nora gave her blessing to Robert and he became the Summer King, but she was in love with another," he shrugged, it was strange tradition for the Sun and the Moon to be with a Fae but it was not strictly necessary. Nora... Nora was in love with a mortal.

"She ran from Arcadia, we could feel her glamour fading," Len was busy with his own search, courting Sara along with Mick, both blinded by her pale light.

"That's because she was giving her glamour to him," Mick nodded towards Barry, "Slowly but surely, she was making sure her son was strong enough to defend himself from Zoom."

Len closed his eyes, gritting his teeth, "That demon... he wanted to take Nora as well? He already took several mortals and Fae, destroying them with his obsession."

"Not everyone he obsessed with can become a speedster," Mick pointed out, expressionless, masking the wrath he was feeling. "He chooses and then destroys whatever hope is within his victim, infusing them with his tainted glamour to fill the gaping hole in their souls, driving them insane."

"Mick..."

"He did that to Nora's beloved," Mick declaration felt like a sentence. "I used to escort Kara to the mortal world to visit Nora, she was already a mother by then and she told me something was wrong with her beloved, something was off, he no longer felt like the man she fell in love with. I knew she was fooling herself, Nora saw what was wrong but she didn't want to accept it."

Len connected the dots, "Changeling, he was replaced by a doppelganger."

Mick grunted in confirmation, "Henry Allen was abducted by Zoom and who knows what he did with him, it's been fifteen years, he's probably dead."

"The attack…"

A speedster murdered Nora, the Sun of Arcadia and another one tried to murder Sara, the Moon, at the same time. Sara was able to stop her attacker, but it cost her dearly and Leonard had to use all his glamour and freeze her heart to prevent her from dying.

Sara was alive but in a frozen slumber, Leonard couldn't wake her up and it pained him.

But Nora… she was gone forever.

"Nora died and the changeling vanished, leaving Nora's son alone in the mortal world," Mick folded his arms over his chest, across the yard Oliver was telling Barry about the raising stars in the sky. "She gave him all her light before the end… if he accepts Oliver, then…"

Leonard could see the kid shining, the soft remains of Nora's life in him – now his own. She managed to do what Exiles like Zoom had been trying for years with terrible methods, she was able to infuse a mortal with the life of a Fae.

He wanted to speak with that kid himself, make him understand what was at stake here. Mick took his arm, feeling his distress and shook his head. This was not his time; Leonard was not the one who should explain to Barry what was going on.

That was Oliver's duty.

-*-*-

When Oliver was younger, he started dreaming of a boy whose silhouette was blinding like the sun. Piercing green eyes, soft brown hair and a lovely smile. In his dreams, the boy would run so fast Oliver was never able to catch him, but he would always wait for Oliver to come to him and offer him his hand.

His mother used to fight with his father about it, calling it a trick from the Exiles. She believed another Fae wanted to take Oliver from the Seasonal Courts' safety, whisk him away to a realm within Arcadia, a pocket universe created by the Exile Fae's power, to be a toy of some twisted mind, until the end of time.

Her fears were justified; the Exiles were vanished from the main realm for a reason. Their twisted minds conjured the most sadistic ways to pass time, robbing other Faes and humans alike of their lives, just because they could.

Oliver knew the boy in his dreams was no Exile.

Before the Stillness, his father died saving the Seasonal Courts' from the attack executed by the Exiles. By that time, Oliver was of age and the Court agreed he was the right choice to pass the title of the Summer King onto. He was to receive the Sun's blessing, for there's no summer without the sun, but Nora was murdered and the sound and life in Arcadia stopped. Frozen in time since the moment their Sun died, Oliver could only watch as the realm was covered by a veil of grey and the Fae little by little lost their hope.

The dawn was death and the dusk will never follow, everyone said. People feared Arcadia's magic would die and the Exiles will return to send everyone over the Hedges, to tear apart their bodies, minds and souls.

But as the Stillness became their life, Oliver saw a boy shining like the sun grow up, his heart full of hope even in the darkest of times.

In a dream, Oliver fell in love.

And his dream came true, for Barry was no wishful thinking of his mind, he was not a trick from the exiles, and he wasn't just a dream, Barry was real, and he was right in front of him.

"Oliver?"

He was so nervous, his hands were trembling and he balled them into fists to not show his hesitation. Barry looked him in the eye, showing concern.

"I dreamed about you," Oliver finally said and he hoped it didn't sound wrong. "For many years and…I apologize, it's just…"

Barry took his hand in his, running his thumb over Oliver's palm. His smile was gone but he didn't look sad, just pensive.

"My mother always talked about fairies, you know?" the chuckle was so fake it almost hurt Oliver, "She told me one day I was going to meet all her friends in a realm where the four seasons live together, where the Sun and the Moon smiled and my desire to believe was more important than anything else."

Oliver narrowed his eyes. Barry knew about Arcadia? Did Nora tell him everything about her old home of Arcadia? That would explain why he was so accepting of everything he had seen and been told about, but why didn't he say so before? As if he was reading Oliver's mind, Barry continued.

"Then she died," the sadness was there, a wound that never healed. "She was murdered by a man with glowing red eyes, running in lighting, moving so fast I could barely see him. He killed my mother and my father disappeared moments after that."

The yellow speed demon, the night the Sun was murdered and Arcadia stilled into grey shadows for fifteen years. Oliver gaped at him, not sure what to say.

"Barry, I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"You saved me from that very same man Oliver," Barry cut him short. "He was going to kill me, but you stopped him." Barry closed his free hand over the charms on his necklace, he frowned with an intense look in his eyes while staring at the floor. "He's going to come back, isn't he?"

Oliver gathered Barry into his arms quickly figuring out that the younger man was preparing himself for another attack. How could Oliver not see it before? He didn't know how loud Barry's silence was.

"I won't let him; you will be fine."

The wind gushed around them and the calm broke. Barry lifted his eyes and a man dressed in yellow and black was standing right before them, looking somber.

"Don't make promises you cannot keep, Prince Oliver."

The Speedster was about to speak again when a layer of frost covered him followed by unforgiving fire. Oliver was ready with bow and arrow, shooting at the newcomer who barely dodged all these attacks, panting when he stopped running on the other side of the courtyard.

"Len?" Oliver saw the Winter King moving closer, his hand in the air as he whispered in the tongue of the ice children, voicing whatever contract he was thinking of right now. The speedster felt the cold creeping into his bonds, devouring the glamour he used to call for his speed.

"Oliver," Leonard acknowledged with a nod, Mick by his side. The warrior may have pledged to the Summer, but there was no doubt that he had friends and allies in the Winter Court.

"I'm not going to hurt any of you," the speedster stopped vibrating, letting them see him as Harrison, "I came to warn you, Zoom is coming."

Len didn't stop his attack but held Harrison in place, not risking anything. He glanced towards Oliver, this was his court after all.

"Speak," he moved to step before Barry, shielding him with his frame. Barry looked worried, staring at Harrison with an intense mistrust which the amber speedster didn't blame him for.

"Your kin caused great damage to our realm," Oliver was direct, not missing a beat, letting the wrath that was the base emotion of the Summer show in his eyes, "What does your master want now?"

"I have no master," Harrison hissed, breaking the thin sheet of ice covering his feet and gasping in pain when the cold dug into his very core. Gritting his teeth, he paused for a moment. "Zoom is our captor, he robbed us of our life and made us like this!" he vibrated his hands, closing then into fists afterwards, "And he wants to do the same to him."

His eyes landed on Barry, showing concern but also a resigned, hopeless truth. Harrison believed Barry was doomed, this effort to save him was contradictory to what his eyes screamed so clearly. Oliver moved closer to Barry, as if his sole presence could make Harrison's words untrue. Leonard moved swiftly, frosting everything as he walked, Mick at his side waved his hand absentmindedly, turning the frost into water as they walked.

"You are trying to stop him," Len smirked, reading into Harrison's silent screams. "Don't even care about the kid, but that feeling eating you alive is far too much, you think saving him might give you what Zoom took from you? Exiles rob our lives and we never get them back as they were, we can only create new ones."

The frost covered Len hands and his eyes were chips of ice glowing in the twilight, his hair white, matching his pale skin. The sorrow in his heart was his weapon and he could feel the despair wanting to surface. The ice chipped and a memory rose from the depths of his blurred memory, Sara's screams echoing in the darkness.

"You!" Leonard pushed forward, ignoring Mick's look and Oliver's questioning voice. "You tried to kill her, you tried to kill Sara!"

Harrison ran but didn't get far, ice spikes broke the ground tripping him. The frost and ice sped towards him, covering him from head to toe, encasing him in solid ice reflecting Len's anger and sorrow.

"Len, stop!" Oliver's summer arrow pierced the ice, letting Harrison breathe again. "We need information!"

"He almost killed her, Oliver!" Leonard's frost was covering the whole courtyard now, "Our Moon, my Sara, she is in an endless slumber because of this bastard!"

Mick walked over to Leonard and made him lower his arm, taking him by the shoulders and staring into his ice blue eyes, forcing him to look into the deep summer inside his own being. The ice around him melted little by little, the evaporating frost creating a breeze around the spring courtyard. Behind Mick, Barry was gazing into the Winter King's eyes.

"Sara?" his voice was a whisper, a question lingering in it, "Blonde hair, blue eyes, looks stunning in white?"

Leonard was trembling with anger a moment ago, somehow Barry's voice allowed him to calm down. Perhaps it was the glamour he was radiating without noticing or his demeanor, Len couldn't tell, but he welcomed it. Now he understood how Oliver could fall in love with him in a dream, this kid was definitely dream like.

Everything a Fae would wish for.

"You know her," it was a statement, Leonard could see the recognition in Barry's eyes, he knew Sara. "How?"

"I dreamt about her," Barry's declaration felt real, after all, Fae were no strangers to live in dreams, "She was kind to me… if not for her, I'd never would have trusted my foster family."

Leonard accepted his words, observing as Oliver took Barry's hand, not wanting to risk the younger man to anything else, as if his touch could prevent any harm.

Harrison was struggling to get free of the ice when a young woman in a blue and red dress stepped in front of him glaring at the injured speedster. The Queen of Spring looked noticeably angry.

"Your highness," he saluted in some remain of his dignity. Kara nodded before striking him in the face, rending him unconscious.

-*-*-

A forest covered the mountain with one side having the landscape colored in yellows, reds, oranges and other colored leaves that could be found on the branches of the trees or creating a colorful pathway on the ground. The other side of the mountain had frost decorating everything in spiraling and memorizing patterns with snow covering the ground and the branches of the evergreen trees.

At one side of the mountain carved into the rock was the Winter palace while on the other side of the mountain could be found the Autumn palace.

The tunnels carved into the rock and underground held an atmosphere of mystery and wonder. The pledgers of Autumn hid in the shadows and creeks, as the recently crowned King watched the history pass in the water mirror before him, the fae inside it pleased to help, showing him what he asked, preparing for the day to come.

"Thank you, Gideon."

"My pleasure, your highness."

Rip, The Autumn King, held his head high, the knowledge acquired thanks to the autumn water mirror fresh in his mind. The Seasonal Courts were in danger, the Exile Zoom was looking to take the yet to be born Sun of Arcadia permanently and make him one of his speedsters and destroy any resemblance of his true self in the process.

The Hawks, Kendra and Carter emerged from their enclosure in the shadows, Rip acknowledge them with a nod.

"It is time?" Kendra asked, her helmet on and her posture stiff, ready for a fight. At her side Carter held his mace over his shoulder.

"The other Courts are aware of the danger," Carter said in a neutral voice, "But not completely."

"We have a mission," Rip walked over to them, eying the pool he used to foresee the future warily, "And it's important."

The four seasons had to fight, if they wanted to save their Sun and with him, their lives.

-*-*-

Barry and Oliver had dinner that night, under a sky with no moon and no stars. The day had been the same, Barry noted, the sky was clear but there was no sun in it, he knew why.

Oliver was not about to tell him, he refrained from letting him now about the dreams they had shared since Barry was a child. Barry thought about the songs his mother sang to him about the four seasons and the realm he now found himself in. He remembered the tale his mother told of how she once got lost in the maze of hedges that divided Arcadia from the mortal world and found a silver path towards safety that lead to her meeting Barry's father. Which lead to her falling in love with a mortal and finding her own shining light for the first time in her life.

After his mother died and his father disappeared, Barry wanted to find an explanation for the impossible, even when he already knew the answer to his questions. Joe loved him, he became his foster father and sheltered him in a time when the world had grown darker for Barry.

His foster sister, Iris, was just as important in his life. He loved them, very much, but in their attempts to help him and anchor him to reality they made him forget that magic was real and that he didn't need to search for the impossible.

He was the impossible.

You're my sun Barry, his mother told him before tucking him to sleep. You're my light, my hope… I love you my son, with everything I am, to the end of time and furthermore.

Her words were literal and he never knew, he never fathomed the idea that he was not entirely human, even if his mother talked about fairy tales and his father told him happy endings were real. His mind repressed all those days and stories full of magic when his happiness was destroyed with his parents' death, he refused to believe.

But he knew better now.

"I remember you, Oliver. I know you," The soon to be King looked at him in the eye, Barry smiled in the darkness of the night, no moon or stars above them, not yet. "I meet you in a dream."

"Barry," Oliver took the younger man's hand, his opposite touching the charms hanging from his necklace, like a promise. "I thought…"

"When my mother was murdered, most of my wish to believe in magic and happy endings died with her," he explained. "I was suffering and… I thought all that magic my mother talked about wasn't real."

He took a step closer to Oliver, his eyes watering in contrast to the smile on his face, "But then I meet you… and I meet Sara, I saw things that made me smile… in my dreams the world didn't seem so broken."

Oliver held Barry against him, unsure of what to say.

"I wasn't just dreaming, wasn't I?"

"No," Oliver reassured him, "I was there in your dream, every time I was able to see you, in those moments where things where good, when I meet you."

Barry smiled, "I'm happy you're not just a dream anymore."

Kissing Oliver was like tasting the summer breeze on his lips, where the sun was high and the heat washed over every surface, but in the shade the wind would feel fresh, calm, full of stories untold, as the cicadas sang through the day and the crickets took over at night.

Barry felt warm and content in Oliver's arms, and for a moment everything was perfect.

-*-*-

The night had stars and the moon was shining over the snow, making it glow with a dream like brightness, it was beautiful. Barry stood very still, feeling the details and knowing where he was standing.

"Sara?" his voice echoed, his steps quiet in the snow.

There was a throne of ice in the middle of the snowed forest, where Sara sat, her blonde hair covering her eyes. She was wearing trousers and long boots and over that an asymmetric white dress incrusted with diamonds and crystals.

"Barry," she lifted her head, her eyes meeting his. She was speaking but her mouth wasn't moving, "There's a great suffering approaching towards you… the Exile known as Zoom will try to consume your hope to taint your light… he's coming Barry, he's coming for you, Zoom is coming."

He ran towards her, but it was as if no matter how much he ran he couldn't reach her. She was still in the ice throne, looking into his eyes but Barry was so far away and not getting closer.

"No, no, please Sara!" he extended his hand towards her and Sara lifted hers, but they were so far from each other it made no difference, "They are waiting for you, Leonard and Mick, come back to them Sara!"

Sara smiled, her eyes sad, but there was understanding in them. She stood up, her hand still in the air, wanting to reach him, "Be strong Barry, don't lose yourself, no matter what."

Blue lighting crashed before him and the world faded.

-*-*-

We woke up with a scream trapped in his throat, drowned by what he had just seen. Barry was afraid of closing his eyes again, yet he felt the need to. Sara was speaking to him, it had been long since her last words to him, when she told him to believe again, for there was no falsehood in his believing.

There was madness, Sara told him with a smirk, but in madness hid wisdom sometimes. There was no Fae who could call themselves complete sane, Arcadia was a paradise for the free though, ideas as mad as their owners gave the kingdom life, and they were waiting for Barry to shine.

Heartbroken, Barry refused to believe in the land his mother talked him about. She was gone and so was his father, Kara was gone as well and Oliver… Oliver was just a dream just like Sara.

Even so, Barry didn't completely let go of his dreams. He allowed himself to forget Kara, to forget Arcadia and to forget the promises made to his mother, the last thing he allowed himself to forget was Oliver, for it hurt to love a dream he could never touch.

Sara… Barry kept Sara's company because he needed someone to tell him that at the end of the day his family loved him. Joe loved him no matter what, Iris openly declared she loved him, he was her brother no matter what.

Barry knew this, but the doubt and the whisper of the poor orphan kid never left his mind, Sara kept those heartbreaking thoughts at bay, preventing them from freeze his heart with sorrow.

Deep down, he knew he wasn't crazy. He knew Sara was not an imaginary friend and he knew his love for Oliver was more than a dream.

Now he was in Sara's world and all he had to do to take his rightful place in it was shine, as his mother told him so many times… but he didn't know how to.

"Barry?"

Oliver's voice welcomed him back to the here and now, his clear eyes showing concern for his loved one. Barry felt warm all the sudden, that care in Oliver's gaze was enough to calm him down.

"Sara," he said, sitting on the bed as Oliver walked towards him and sat beside him, "She warned me about Zoom."

"Her concise is strong, even in her slumber," Oliver's lip formed a sad smile. "She has always been so strong, no matter what."

Oliver took Barry's hand, looking at him in the eye, "Just like you."

"I don't know how to be the sun you need, Oliver," Barry's voice was nothing more than a whisper, "I spent so many years hiding my belief that I perhaps really lost it."

Oliver shock his head, "Never, you are strong Barry, the strongest person I know. I believe you will shine at your own time, I'll be with you in every step, I swear I will protect you."

Barry felt the need to kiss him, so he did just that, clinging to Oliver like a life line, as if drinking the air out of him, with every sloppy kiss, the need to be with him became stronger.

"Zoom is coming," Barry mumbled against his lips, tears in the corners of his closed eyes, "I don't want him to take everything from me."

"I won't let hi—"

"I know you will fight, I know the autumn and winter had sent their allies here, I know Kara and the spring are ready… but I don't want Zoom to hurt any of you."

"Barry—"

"He wants me," the younger man opened his eyes, determination in them, "An even if he takes me, he will never have me."

Sara's words echoed in his head like an omen, as blue lighting crossed the night.

-*-*-

The Day Courts held Harrison in a dungeon but they did him no harm. He spent his day talking to one of the summer royal warriors, Mick, and an interesting young winter scholar, Hartley. He warned them about Zoom and both listened, Hartley knew he wasn't lying since sound was his instrument and he could see truth and lies within the vibrations and sound of his voice. Hartley carried his warning to Leonard who in turn turned to Oliver and Kara.

Even with his warning, they couldn't stop Zoom from taking Barry.

Blue lighting zipped through the twin castles, taking down spring and summer warriors alike, even some of the winter and autumn pledgers who stood against Zoom were set aside by the Exile.

Oliver stood his ground, with the wrath of his court as his weapon, infusing his arrows with light. In any other situation, a much favorable one, Oliver's summer would have stood a chance, his strength would have defeated the enemy, as the summer was the protector of the other seasons and his king the herald of light.

But he didn't have the dawn, and with no light and no heat, the summer was weak.

Zoom took Barry before Oliver was able to help him ignite the Sun that he was, and for that, Oliver lost him.

-*-*-

The wind was knocked out of him and Oliver's scream engraved itself in his mind, he remembered that much. Even with so many people trying to protect him, Barry knew it was no use, Zoom was coming.

He tried to build hope, waiting for the dreaded moment that would mark his life once again. He took off his necklace, placing it over Oliver's pillow in his quarters, thinking that perhaps if he wished hard enough, he may be able to come back to Oliver.

Zoom tore apart the defense before him and when blue lighting took Barry, he remembered Sara's words.

He had to be strong, for himself, for everything… for Oliver.

Clawed fingers held his face, forcing him to look into the dark speed demon's eyes, an abyss of despair and misery. He was drowning and felt like he was being pulled down into the deepest and darkest depths of the soul. How could that be? It was as if Zoom was consuming every last bit of hope within him. His hope and his very light were being diminished by this demonic creature.

"You are mine," Zoom's voice cracked, rough and dry, it made Barry shudder, " _Say it._ "

Barry held his ground, it didn't matter that he was tied up to the metal tree in the middle of Zoom's lair, nor the cold metal ropes holding him in place or the thorns digging into his skin. This creature robbed him of everything, he got others to do his bidding in hurting him. His parents taken, his life destroyed, Barry had every reason to give up but he was not going to.

"No," he said stubbornly. "You don't own me and you never will."

A clawed finger traced his cheek, making a shallow cut. A distorted smile formed on Zoom's face, his eyes tracing the blood dripping down Barry's face with delight. He made the thorns grow, the sharp spikes started to dig deep into Barry's flesh but the pain was not what he expected, it was far worse.

"What are you doing?" his chest swelled in panic, this agony wasn't normal.

"I'm making you mine," Zoom cooed his claws drawing more blood, tracing his cheeks, his neck and chest.

The thorns grew and Barry screamed.

Lightning cracked in the dark sky above them, water dripped from the metal branches and seeped into the ground. Zoom’s eyes left Barry’s agonizing face to look up instead. The blue lightning blurred over the metal structure to the very top. The storm was growing stronger with the sky rippling with lightning and thunder.

Zoom released a horrifying laugh that struck terror within Barry’s heart. As the storm raged on around them; Zoom began clawing at the three and making it bleed. Yellow and green strange substances began to ooze from the metal tree. As the thorns ripped into Barry’s flesh; strange colored substances bled into Barry’s wounds forcing agonized screams to be torn from Barry’s raw throat. Then the sky was ruptured open by blinding lightning never experienced before.

Zoom disappeared as the lightning struck directly the very top of the metal tree, electricity engulfing it in an instant causing the tree to be split into two with the electrical currents making its way towards its intended target.

Barry voice broke and silence followed.

-*-*-

Zoom held an orb in his hand, watching as lightning tore the sky apart and strike Barry again and again within the prison he made for him. Zoom shook the pocket dimension in his hand, his distorted mouth cracking in delight as the cycle repeated. He watched as Barry was tied to the cold iron tree not being able to escape as the thorns ripped into his very soul. He watched with twisted glee as Barry’s glamour was consumed and his soul was tainted with pain and sorrow. Watched as lightning sealed everything, breaking his voice and his hope, little by little.

He shook the orb again and the cycle repeated.

In the cells around him, his speedsters watched with horror in their eyes. What little hope Harrison's defiance gave them was now gone from them, as it should be.

"Soon he will be like you," Zoom said to Eobard, Jesse and Wally. The three of them huddled around Henry's unresponsive form. "But he will be better, shaped to my liking, with every last bit of light and hope ripped away he will forever drown within a never ending sea of despair and misery. He shall be mine for ages to come."

Zoom placed the orb on a pedestal before running off, forcing the other speedsters to watch as their potential Sun lost his hope, descending strike by strike into despair, as they once did, yet far worse.

"Make it stop!" Wally punched the barrier, angry tears in the corner of his eyes, "Why is he doing this?!"

"He wants to be the best," Eobard's voice was neutral, Wally couldn't understand how he did it.

"Nora's son was a threat and a potential too great to ignore, if he breaks him before he makes the complete change, then no one will be able to stop him."

Another lightning strike, another scream and Barry's voice broke one more time. Jesse closed her eyes and covered her ears, trembling in fear and anguish. Her mind going to a dark place where the dread started to consume her again. She felt useless, watching the Sun being murdered before he was even properly born.

"I can't," she whispered, her nails digging into her skin, "I can't take it."

Eobard held his niece in an embrace, the blank expression on his face giving nothing away. Wally cursed, punching the barrier again and again until his knuckles bleed, nobody stopped him.

The orb kept flashing as lightning kept striking inside it but Barry wasn't screaming anymore. He was just glowing, taking the pain inflicted to him in silence.  
Henry stirred, his eyes opening in synch of the most recent flash of lightning. His movements sharp and determined as he stood and placed his hand against the barrier that trapped them.

"Henry?" Wally approached him while Jesse and Eobard watched in awe.

"My son is suffering," his voice was rough with disuse, yet his words didn't quiver, "I need to..."

His eyes went to the dark sky above them, thru the opening of their prison. He pressed his hands fully against the barrier and dug his nails into it. Wally saw the threads starting to drain Henry's glamour again, consuming the determination he just gained.

"You're hurting yourself," Eobard pointed out, holding Jesse close, "It'll do no good."

"That's not my intention," Henry hissed and plunged more of his glamour into the barrier, transforming it into pale yellow lightning, making it tremble.

Wally had never seen it do that before, "You're breaking its core, overcharging it."

Henry nodded, Wally wasted no time and mimicked Henry's posture, changing his glamour into bright red lightning, his action was followed by Jesse's light red energy as she joined them and eventually Eobard's yellow strike. There was another strike of lightning within Barry's prison making them more determined to pour every last bit of glamour into the barrier, finally breaking it in the process.

They fell to the ground, Henry ignoring the pain of being drained, took the orb into his hands and observed the pocketed dimension Zoom created to imprison his son.

"We have to get him out of here," He said, feeling the orb's surface with his fingertips to try to figure out how to release his son from his torture.

Eobard quickly took the lead by breaking the veil that hid their prison above the ground and the four of them ran out, leaving their prison behind. Jesse took the lead next, guiding them over the hedges and towards a silver path. Blue lightning roamed near them and they knew Zoom was about to catch them if they didn’t quickly do something to slow him down.

Wally and Henry shared a glance as they combined their lightning causing it to strike the silver path with a precise hit. The hit caused the path to shatter and the escaping prisoners immediately fell thru the folds of reality. They ended up crashing into the main Fae Realm, Arcadia.

Henry helped Wally to his feet while Jesse ran her hands over her uncle's head, her fingers coming up bloody.

"Leave it, we have to keep moving," Eobard almost fell again if not for Jesse's quick movements.

Zoom was abruptly standing in their pathway before they could take another step toward possible safety.

"You dared..." the speed demon hissed, "I will make you pay."

They braced themselves but the blow never came, everything around them was still and unmoving. Even the vibrant colored falling leaves from the trees were suspended within midair.

The earth parted and Rip emerged from it with Kendra and Carter at either side of him.

"Autumn," Eobard recognized the person but Rip didn't say a word, his hands were held up and glowing, his eyes fully black as his power stilled time around them.

Twin mace weapons struck Zoom, sending him towards the shattered silver path and away from Arcadia. The two warriors stuck one blow after another, until the Autumn Hawks drove their enemy away.

"This will not last forever," Kendra warned, turning back to Rip who was still holding time still, "He came back once and he will find a way again."

"We must leave," Carter said to the speedsters, shaking his wings in anticipation.  
Rip gasped, his eyes still black and the glamour around them shaking, time was slowly moving again.

"Gideon," Rip hissed, kneeling to the leaf covered ground, placing both hands over the damp dirt, "Take us back to the Mountain."

A light blue aura covered all of them in a dome before it started sinking into the ground, much to the speedsters’ panic.

"All is well," a disembodied voice told them, Gideon voice ringing in their ears, "You are safe."

Henry held the orb where his son was trapped close to his chest, standing still as they sank into the ground and left Zoom behind, for the moment.

-*-*-

Rip's glamour covered the entire mountain, making it seem as if no one was there. Hiding from Zoom was a temporary solution at best, they were all well aware. Zoom was dangerous, but their main concern at the moment was the orb before them with the striking lightning flashing over and over again within its the space where Barry was trapped and suffering.

The four Seasonal royals stood around the pedestal where Henry gently set the orb, the gaze of the many eyes of the four courts on them.

"Oliver," Kara's voice was firm, her blue eyes almost as intense as Leonard's, "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

No hesitation, no turning back. Kara and Leonard shared a look before turning to Rip, the three of them stood together and called upon their seasons' strength. Oliver did the same, soon fear, desire, wrath and sorrow sang together, opening a path allowing the summer Prince to cross into a place of despair.

Oliver snapped his eyes open, the pouring rain was washing away the blood on the ground, but the drops tasted like tears and the place had a sense of hopelessness. The thunder was so loud that the eardrums throbbed in pain and the lightning that crashed all around him was blinding.

"Barry!"

Broken fingers and burned flesh, torn skin and blood mixed with ashes, there was little left of Barry now, Oliver felt he was too late. He ran towards the three, his gloved fingers tearing at the metal ropes. The pain traveled up from where his hands were gripping the ropes and spread throughout his body. The feeling was horrible and it took all of his strength to clamp down on the scream that was trying to escape from his throat. The ropes burnt his hands dredging up hazy memories of feeling something similar and filling him with dread.

"Iron," his voice slightly above a whisper, his mind working on the details.

Barry was tied to a tree of cold iron, a material capable of hurting any Fae like no other and Zoom had bound Barry to a goddamn tree made of it.

Oliver closed his eyes and desperately started yanking on the ropes in hopes of tearing them apart or losing them enough to be able to release Barry from their unrelenting hold. He ignored the thorns digging into his skin, the burning pain of even being close to the iron, the mist of despair sucking away all his determination...

"No, no you won't," He told the thought of Zoom, his hands shaking, his gloves already melted over them, "I won't let you have him."

Claps of thunder rippled the air. With trembling hands Oliver took one of his arrows out of the quiver and shot towards the sky in time for the lightning to strike. The arrow acting as a rod to stop it from hurting Barry again.

He continued working on the iron ropes, his pain unimportant.

"Ollie...?"

Barry's voice was rough, his vocal cords shredded raw from the length of time he had been bound and tortured – hours, days, weeks, years – of agonizing screams. His mind torn apart with Zoom's voice calling him mine over and over, destroying his memories and drowning him in a sea of despair.

"I'm here Barry," Oliver sounded so different, as if he was real, "I am real Barry, I'm getting you out of here."

Barry slowly opened his eyes, his corneas healed from the last time the lighting burned them off. Oliver was there, working on removing the iron ropes, his blood mixing with Barry's as it splattered over the tree, Oliver was fighting so hard to save him, he was hurting himself in the process.

"S-stop," it hurt to speak, he was so tired too, "Please Oliver... stop."

"I won't," the archer didn't even flinch when the iron spikes tore his palms open, "I'm going to get you out of here, I'm not leaving without you."

A warm breeze caressed his burnt skin, it felt nice. With blurry eyes he felt as Oliver manipulated the heat, melting the iron around him with careful precision to not let any hurt Barry as he began to fall apart. Oliver even brushed pieces of the melting iron rope away from Barry with his hands at some points. Barry didn't notice the tears as they rolled down his burnt face, Oliver was fighting so hard, fighting for him, to free him and get him to safety.

"Everything will be okay Barry," Oliver said, climbing over him to rip another set of iron ropes, "Everyone is waiting, we're almost there."

It was a happy thought, everyone waiting... but what made Barry smile was the fact that Oliver was the one saying it.

Yes. Everything will be fine.

Thunder rippled in the sky and another lightning strike approached, but this time Barry was not afraid. He held his head high, looking into the branches of the iron tree and smiled.

"You can't hurt me," he said out loud, the electricity surfing through the split open tree towards him. He felt it in every fiber of his body, but it didn't hurt, not anymore, because now he wasn't alone.

Oliver was here.

He was blind and he was deaf again, but he wasn't afraid. Trembling hands lifted his face and he knew it wasn't Zoom looming over him but Oliver, so eager to save him, to be with him.

Barry sighed, a pure hot white energy surging in him, and he made the world vibrate. The tree broke the rest of the way, each half falling on opposite sides of where it once stood.

"Stay with me, Barry," he heard Oliver said, he couldn't help but smile because it felt right. The energy inside him was powerful and infinite, it could do right or wrong, and thanks to Oliver he found the way to revive it.

The Archer pointed towards the sky, another lighting coming for them. Barry rested his forehead against Oliver's back, he was ready to go home. The rest of the dimension shattered as Oliver released an arrow into the sky, breaking the prison apart.

-*-*-

The taste of summer was on his lips again, warm light covered him, healing his wounds and mending his soul. The breeze calmed his pain and the pure honesty of its carrier made Barry feel… happy.

He smiled, slowly opening his eyes to encounter Oliver's blue ones gazing into his own. He touched his beloved's face, feeling content, "You woke me up with a kiss."

"I'm glad you're awake," Oliver held him in his arms and everything was simply fine once again.

Pure light covered him, warmth nestling within his heart. Barry heard his mother singing to him from his memory, her life gone but never forgotten and with it he felt his father's presence close by. His eyes located him at his side, holding his hand, tears streaming down his face.

"Hey slugger…"

"Dad…"

Barry was propped up against Oliver's chest, his warmth slowly but firmly igniting the light inside Barry, his mother's gift against despair. He looked up, where the top of the mountain opened into a natural skylight and smiled at the sky, outside the sun was rising, the dawn finally arriving.

"You brought back the Dawn, kiddo," his father praised him in simple words and Barry felt his heart beat again, "Thank you."

He had so many questions about his father, about the man in yellow, about Zoom and what he really was, most of these questions clouded his mind, but Oliver's eyes on him put these at ease for now, there would be time to have all his questions answered, now that he had finally found home.

Oliver squeezed his hand, his eyes telling the words his voice didn't want to say before prying ears, the confession meant for only Barry to heard.

Barry kissed him again.

-*-*-

The Winter King stood under the skyline of the mountain, his eyes closed, his glamour surrounding the place as his breathing echoed in the silence, with no one but one as witness. He lowered his hands and the winter in Arcadia rested, contained to the Court he was protector of and around the hedges to prevent the Exile from coming back.

He had been witness as Oliver ignited the Sun, he felt the moment the Dawn arrived, setting part of Arcadia's balance back into place, but the cold in his heart was another matter.

Leonard opened his eyes, watching the sun high in the Sky, after decades of dim light but no sun, it felt almost surreal to see it again. Behind him stood an ice casket, where Sara slept, Mick guarded both the Moon and her Winter closely, because Zoom was still out there, somewhere behind the hedges that hid Arcadia from the Human world.

"Let me have this," he whispered to the sun, wondering if Barry could have heard him or if he was still too young to know his own power, "I need this."

When the sun reached its peak, the light bathing everything under the skyline the ice casket cracked, one line after another, until it was nothing but chunks of ice on the floor. Len approached Sara, knowing he had to believe, the ice in his sorrow-frozen heart no longer holding the Winter in place. His frozen lips met hers, sending a chilling breeze around them, cold steady hands held his face and he heard Mick chuckle.

"You're late," Sara's voice taunted, smiling against his lips.

"No, my dear," Len's ice blue eyes were almost glowing, "You are the one late."

Mick approached them, taking them both into his arms and Sara laughed with the happiness they felt before the Stillness. The Sun was back in Arcadia and so was the Moon, as it should be.

Sara touched Mick's face, her smile bright and almost mischievous, "You feel warm."

"I always feel warm doll," Mick chuckled, holding both his winter and moon close, "Summer will do that to ya."

Len leaned close to him, his hand on Sara, feeling uncharacteristically calm sounded by the warm of a warrior and the chill of the moon. He knew what Sara was implying, but he kept his silence.

"Don't be dense," Sara said instead, kissing his cheek. "Your prince has become King yet?"

"Ah, that's what ya're feeling, the summer's here," Mick spoke, refusing to let them go, both Sara and Len didn't have any objection to this, "Yes, Sunshine is here my dear Moon, you can relax now."

Sara sighed softly, after years of watching Barry from afar, he had finally come home and now she could lay here in the arms of her Winter and own piece of summer, after so long Sara finally felt at peace.

-*-*-

It was so strange to be what he was meant to be from the very beginning, Barry spent so many years trying to chase the impossible that he forgot to look in the mirror, where he would have found his answer from the start. His mother had never been human; she was the warm light that gave him life along with his father's believe. Their love was what made him possible.

Nora was the sun of Arcadia, once, and when her life ended in tragedy, she made sure to give her life to her son, unknowingly promising him to the summer to come.

When Oliver meet his Sun in a dream, he regained the hope his life so much needed, knowing that one day the balance would be restored, that one day, he would meet his beloved.

Arcadia was alive once again, but it was far from perfect. Yet, Oliver knew he could make it better, he and the other Seasonal Royals will protect their pledgers, with the Sun and the Moon by their side.

There was much to do, Zoom was still out there, with who knows how many other exiles. The speedster he made out of despair where now in Arcadia, courtless but alive, willing to take their lives back now that their cruel ordeal was over. Eobard and Harrison where ready to face whatever consequence the Court dictated appropriated for their involuntary attempts against Arcadia, as long as Jesse and Wally where safe. Henry appealed for them immediately, explaining the situation to the Seasonal Royals and the four of them understood.

Jesse and Wally didn't even remember their mortal lives, one practically raised in the hands of Zoom with her father and uncle, the other stolen from the human world too many years ago.

There were too many things to do, too many steps to take to rebuilt and restore the broken pieces Zoom left in his wake. But first, he had to commit to it, standing tall as a pillar of the summer warriors, the defense of Arcadia.

Oliver kneeled before the Sun, who smiled down at him and kissed the top of his head. Barry was dressed in bright red with touches of gold while Oliver was in his favored a green colored clothing.

"You have my blessing… may the Summer stand stronger in your guidance."

Before the four seasons, the Summer King kissed the Sun, letting Arcadia know he had found his beloved at least and reclaimed the throne to serve and protect, with the blinding light of their world besides him, after they meet once upon a dream.


End file.
